Battle of Athens (1946)
|date=August 1–2, 1946 |place=Athens, Tennessee, United States |casus=Corruption in the McMinn County government |result=McMinn County government forced to disband, replaced by new government |combatant1=Local World War II veterans and other citizens |combatant2=McMinn County Sheriff's Department |commander1=Various GIs |commander2=Sheriff Pat Mansfield, Paul Cantrell |strength1= |strength2= |casualties1=Some injuries, no fatalities |casualties2=Some injuries, no fatalities }}The Battle of Athens (sometimes called the McMinn County War) was a rebellion led by citizens in Athens and Etowah, Tennessee, United States, against the local government in August 1946. The citizens, including some World War II veterans, accused the local officials of political corruption and voter intimidation. The event is sometimes cited by firearms ownership advocates as an example of the value of the Second Amendment in combating tyranny.Eleanor Roosevelt on the Second Amendment & The Battle of Athens, abovetopsecret.com.The Second Amendment and the Battle of Athens, behindbluelines.com.deo: Best Second Amendment Video - Battle of Athens, kickthemallout.com.Battle of Athens: Restoring the Rule of Law, freedom-fightersforum.org. Background Citizens of McMinn County had long been concerned about political corruption and possible election fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice had investigated allegations of electoral fraud in 1940, 1942, and 1944, but had not taken action. In 1936 the system descended upon McMinn County in the person of one Paul Cantrell, the Democratic candidate for sheriff. Cantrell, who came from a family of money and influence in nearby Etowah, tied his campaign closely to the popularity of the Roosevelt administration and rode FDR’s coattails to victory over his Republican opponent. Paul Cantrell was elected sheriff in the 1936, 1938, and 1940 elections, and was elected to the state senate in 1942 and 1944, while his former deputy, Pat Mansfield, was elected sheriff. A state law enacted in 1941 had reduced local political opposition by reducing the number of voting precincts from 23 to 12 and reducing the number of justices of the peace from fourteen to seven (including four "Cantrell men"). The sheriff and his deputies worked under a fee system whereby they received money for every person they booked, incarcerated, and released; the more arrests, the more money they made. Buses passing through the county were often pulled over and the passengers were randomly ticketed for drunkenness, whether guilty or not. In the August 1946 election, Paul Cantrell was once again a candidate for sheriff, while Pat Mansfield sought the state senate seat. After World War II ended, some 3,000 military veterans (constituting about 10 percent of the county population) had returned to McMinn County. Some of the returning veterans resolved to challenge Cantrell's political control by fielding their own nonpartisan candidates and working for a fraud-free election. They called themselves the GI Non-Partisan League. Veteran Bill White described the veterans' motivation: Combat veteran Knox Henry stood as candidate for sheriff in opposition to Cantrell. In advertisements and speeches, the GI candidates promised an honest ballot count and reform of county government. At a rally, a GI speaker said, Battle Polls for the county election opened August 1, 1946. About 200 armed deputies turned out to patrol the precincts—the normal complement of 15 deputies significantly augmented by reinforcements from other counties. A number of conflicts arose before the polls closed, the most serious of which was when a black man, Tom Gillespie, was assaulted by officers after casting his vote. Deputy C.M. Wise shot and wounded him in the back while he was trying escape from the officers. C.M. Wise was later sentenced to 1–3 years in prison, being the only person to face charges from the events of August 1–2, 1946. As the polls closed, deputies seized ballot boxes and took them to the jail. Opposition veterans responded by arming themselves and marching there. Some of them had raided the National Guard Armory, obtaining arms and ammunition. Estimates of the number of veterans besieging the jail vary from several hundred to as high as 2,000. When the men reached the jail, it was barricaded and manned by 55 deputies. The veterans demanded the ballot boxes but were refused. They then opened fire on the jail, initiating a battle that lasted several hours by some accounts, considerably less by others. In the end, the door of the jail was dynamited and breached. The barricaded deputies—some with injuries—surrendered, and the ballot boxes were recovered. During the fight at the jail, rioting had broken out in Athens, mainly targeting police cars. This continued even after the ballot boxes were recovered, but subsided by morning. Aftermath The recovered ballots certified the election of the five GI Non-Partisan League candidates. Among the reforms instituted was a change in the method of payment and a $5,000 salary cap for officials. In the initial momentum of victory, gambling houses in collusion with the Cantrell regime were raided and their operations demolished. Deputies of the prior administration resigned and were replaced. The new government encountered challenges including at least eleven resignations of county administrators. On January 4, 1947, four of the five leaders of the GI Non-Partisan League declared in an open letter: "We abolished one machine only to replace it with another and more powerful one in the making." The League failed to establish itself permanently and traditional political parties soon returned to power. In the media The 1992 made-for-television movie An American Story (produced by the Hallmark Hall of Fame) was based upon the McMinn County War but set in a Texas town in 1945. It was nominated for two 1993 prime time Emmy Awards and one American Society of Cinematographers award. The battle is also mentioned in the book Unintended Consequences. References External links * Press on the Battle of Athens * Photo: Knox Henry becomes sheriff after battle. Archived Copy. * Battle of the Ballots, Time Magazine, Monday, Aug. 12, 1946 * The Battle of Athens, American Heritage Magazine, February/March 1985, Archived Copy * An interview with Bill White for the Veteran's oral history project, Center for the Study of War and Society, Department of History, University of Tennessee Athens 1946, Battle of Category:1946 in Tennessee Athens 1946, Battle of Category:Battles and conflicts without fatalities Category:Riots and civil disorder in the United States Category:History of Tennessee Category:McMinn County, Tennessee Category:Gun politics in the United States Category:Crime in Tennessee Category:Rebellions in the United States